Name: __________________________
Date: ________________
Of Mice and Men
Presentations Worksheet
I. The Great Depression
1. What event triggered the Great Depression?
2. What occurred during the Great Depression?
3. When did the Great Depression take place?
4. Why were the 1920s known as the “Roaring 20s”?
5. How were children affected by the Great Depression?
II. The New Deal
1. Which president oversaw the New Deal?
2. What was the New Deal and what were its components?
3. What was the Works Progress Association?
4. Who benefitted from the New Deal?
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III. 1930s Dust Bowl
1. What was the Dust Bowl?
2. When did the Dust Bowl take place?
3. Who was most affected by the Dust Bowl? Why?
4. What good came out of the Dust Bowl?
IV. The Migrant Experience: Migrant Workers
1. What is a migrant worker?
2. Why did people become migrant workers?
3. Who was Dorothea Lange?
4. What is “Migrant Mother”?
V. The American Dream
1. What is the American Dream?
2. What songs and/or poems depict the American Dream? Explain your response.
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3. How did Dr. Martin Luther King perpetuate (support) the idea of the American Dream?
4. Who was Horatio Alger and what was his relation to the American Dream?
VI. Lynching and Racism
1. What is a lynching?
2. Who was most often affected by lynching?
3. Where did lynching most often take place?
4. What were some of the effects of lynching?
VII. John Steinbeck
1. Where and where was Steinbeck born?
2. Describe Steinbeck’s young life.
3. What topics did Steinbeck’s writing address?
4. What challenges did Steinbeck encounter in his life?
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VIII. Film in the 1930s
1. How did the financial struggles of this decade relate to the popularity of movie-viewing?
2. What technological advancements were made in film during this decade?
3. What did movie theaters look like in the 1930s?
4. What genres (categories) of film were popular in the 1930s?
IX. Naturalism
1. What is naturalism? Be specific in your response.
2. What are the traits of a naturalistic character?
3. What themes and topics does naturalistic literature cover?
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